Travel Therapy is Born

Copyright Karen Schaler-All Rights Reserved

Now here’s someone who looks like he could definitely use some TRAVEL THERAPY! I was barefoot, wearing a bathing-suit and trolling the beach for photographs when I stumbled upon this character. Covered from head to toe in black, this New Yorker had just arrived at Jumby Bay so I cut him some slack because this private island truly does take your breath away. 

But to back up a bit, my idea to write a series of TRAVEL THERAPY books and develop a travel website and create one of the best travel blogs along with a new travel T.V. show based around the TRAVEL THERAPY concept, actually started after a recent adventure trip to Puerto Rico.

I was finally home after flying what felt like a zillion hours and headed to the gym to see if I could sweat some of the jet-lag out of my system. Dragging myself into my spin class I found myself mumbling, “I need to get back on a plane to another fabulous place. I need some travel therapy.”

 BAM! The idea hit me like a sledge hammer. The title for the book popped into my head. I would call it…

TRAVEL THERAPY-TAKE TWO VACATIONS THEN CALL ME IN THE MORNING

I decided to write a book about life changing destinations to show how you can change your attitude by changing your environment. Going through a breakup? Looking for Romance? Looking for a way to give back? Searching for a way to re-invent yourself? TRAVEL THERAPY would be a road-map to self discovery, happiness and success. 

 I felt like telling the world. I frantically looked around my spin class for someone to tell but everyone was already on their bikes and had that dazed “it’s 5:30 in the morning don’t even think about bothering me,” look on their face. 

I barely remember my workout and as soon as I got in my car I wanted to call someone and tell them bout the idea but so many thoughts were whirling around in my head I thought I better write them all down before the world got in the way.

When I got home I turned off my phone and grabbed my laptop and outlined the entire idea in about four hours. It was mentally exhausting but exhilerating. I knew I had found what I was meant to do.

NOW I called my mom, my favorite fan and best critic, but was almost afraid to tell her my idea. I held my breath until I heard her say she “loved it”. She was just as excited as I was and we brainstormed places to profile and some of the specifics. 

Over the next few days I finished an entire non-fiction book proposal, designed a travel website and started working on several travel blogs and wrote a treatment for a TRAVEL THERAPY television travel series and even ordered business cards. To test the idea I sent the website out to a few friends and family and that’s when things really took off. Within a few days I was meeting with a Cox Cable executive who asked to meet with me after seeing the website about possibly doing a show for the Travel Channel ( recently purchased by Cox).

I sent a query letter out to a hand-full of top literary agents on a Friday afternoon to see if I could find someone to represent my non-fiction book idea and within an hour I had a call and then two calls and then two more came on Saturday and by Sunday I had offers to represent the book. It was mind boggling but so gratifying to know that other people ”got it”.  I didn’t want to rush into making any decisions and I was traveling the next day to Jumby so told everyone I would contact them when I got back and sent them each a list of questions.

Believe me I know how amazingly fortunate I am to have one agent much less a hand-full be interested in the project. I have several fiction books I completed several years ago and tried for months to get an agent but it didn’t happen. The timing wasn’t right. I was told my writing was solid but I needed to do something in non-fiction first. Then I moved several times and got busy with my “real” job ( TV Reporter) and tucked my dream to be an author away for awhile. I did do some travel writing on the side as a freelance but with a full time job I could only take a few assignments a year.

Last January I was bored with my daily reporting job and aching for a challenge so I started working on becoming the first journalist ever embedded with an Apache Helicopter Unit in Afghanistan. By February, I got the green-light and the experience was life changing. At one of the bases I was staying at there was a bombing and several dozen people were killed very close to where I was. I spent several hours in a bunker with the same emergency announcement blaring over and over again on the Base’s emergency loud speaker.

“The base is under a direct attack. The base is under attack. Mass causalities have been reported. This is not a drill. This is not a drill.”

When you’re hunkered down in a bunker with young soldiers who are so scared they can’t even look at each other and you have no idea what is going on and what is going to happen next… you start to ask yourself questions. At least I did.

Had I done everything  in my life that I wanted to do? Had I told everyone that I loved, that I loved them? Had I said I was sorry to anyone I may have hurt? If I didn’t come home how would I be remembered?

The strangest thing is… that day I was never scared of dying. I was more afraid of not living my life the way I was meant to. 

After I returned to the states I wrote/produced/reported in a one hour documentary on Afghanistan and then quit my local television reporting job the day after the Special aired. I immediately started working on a broadcasting book for the next generation of journalists and I started traveling… traveling a lot, traveling anywhere I could get an assignment, because traveling was my “therapy”.

As a freelance travel writer for various national magazines and newspapers I had been thinking about doing a book about travel for awhile, but knew I needed a truly ”unique”  and marketable idea.

With my TRAVEL THERAPY concept I now had the idea and interest from people in the industry. The rest would be up to me.

So when I arrived at Jumby Bay last week I was on assignment for a national magazine but I was also on assignment for myself, knowing this special destination would be a perfect fit for my TRAVEL THERAPY  idea.

In this blog I will highlight the journey of making the TRAVEL THERAPY concept a reality and along the way will highlight the best of the best travel destinations from Romantic Escapes to Spa Resorts, Adventure Travel, Family Vacations, Green Destinations, Best Beaches, Luxury Hotels, Golf Getaways, Budget Travel and much, much more! For more you can also check out my TRAVEL THERAPY website at www.mytraveltherapy.com.

Also, if you have any suggestions about destinations you want to hear more about or suggestions about places you’ve visited, please let me know! We’re in this journey together!

Travel Safe!